Friday, 26 September 2025

Flashpoint - Gordon Korman - 39 Clues Unstoppable Book 4

Flashpoint 
The 39 Clues Unstoppable Book 4
ISBN 9780545597197
eISBN 9780545540056
ASIN B00I5T2IBC

Flashpoint - Gordon Korman - 39 Clues Unstoppable Book 4

I absolutely loved the beginning of the 39 Clues books. I read 18 volumes across two of the series between 2009 and 2012. But then life got very busy with a change in roles at work and 3 young children at home; and they sort of fell off my radar. But I have been on a mission to read and review the complete works of Gordon Korman. I picked this one up when I had a little over 7 to go. It reminded me how good this set of series is, and I have added the remaining books to me ‘to be read’ pile (for after I have completed Korman’s canon). I read this book out of order to complete my way through Korman’s works. It was strong enough to stand on it’s own, but I will circle back and read the preceding three volumes.  But back to the volume at hand, the description of this volume states:

“The final adventure in this explosive 39 Clues story arc.

Tick tock. Fifteen-year-old Amy Cahill has only a few days to live. There's a poison coursing through her, and her only chance is to collect ingredients for an antidote. Too bad the antidote's ingredients are scattered around the world. And too bad that survival is by far Amy's smallest problem.

The antidote she needs is also the only thing capable of stopping a deadly enemy. J. Rutherford Pierce is on the brink of becoming the most powerful man in the world, and if he does, no one will be safe. Amy and her younger brother, Dan, will do everything it takes to bring Pierce down. Even if Amy must pay the ultimate price.”

This is the final story in a four book series for the 39 Clues Unstoppable story arc. As mentioned I had not read the previous three and even the 5 other volumes in The 39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers series since Korman’s last work in the series. This story starts with pure action. Amy has consumed Gideon Cahill’s formula. And the various branches of the Cahill’s are working together to gather the ingredients of an ancient antidote. It is proving quite a challenge. They are trying to get their hands on the last ingredient, venom from a now nearly extinct snake in South America. They need to not only gather the ingredients to save Amy, they also need to stop Pierce a man set on first the presidency and then conquering the whole world. They need to make the antidote, test it, and find a way to get it on Pierce and his whole jacked up family and goons. No small task for a group of teens and young adults no matter how gifted a family they come from.

This was the third novel I have read in this series in 13 years. Reading this volume and the other three after a 13 year break was like a visit with old friends. The plot is breakneck, the pace almost non-stop action. And the characters are masterfully written. Another thrilling adventure featuring Dan, Amy, Ian, Alistair, Hamilton, Jonah and other friends are on the team in this concluding adventure. I can easily recommend the book and books across all the 39 Clues series great fun for the young and young at heart!     

The 39 Clues:
The Maze of Bones - Book 1 - Rick Riordan
One False Note - Book 2 - Gordon Korman
The Sword Thief - Book 3 - Peter Lerangis
Beyond the Grave - Book 4 - Jude Watson
The Black Circle - Book 5 - Patrick Carman
In Too Deep - Book 6 - Jude Watson
 
The Viper's Nest - Book 7 - Peter Lerangis
The Emperor's Code - Book 8 - Gordon Korman

Storm Warning - Book 9 - Linda Sue Park

 Into the Gauntlet - Book 10 - Margaret Peterson Haddix
The Black Book of Buried Secrets - Rick Riordan
Vespers Rising - Book 11 - Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman, and Jude Watson
Midnight Ride - Clifford Riley

Card Pack #1 - Books 1-3
Card Pack #2 - Books 4-6
Card Pack #3 - Books 7-9
Rare Card Pack
...

The 39 Clues Cahills vs. Vespers
The Medusa Plot - Book 1 - Gordon Korman
A King's Ransom - Book 2 - Jude Watson
The Dead of Night - Book 3 - Peter Lerangis
Shatterproof - Book 4 - Roland Smith
Trust No One - Book 5 - Linda Sue Park
Day of Doom - Book 6 - David Baldacci
 
The 39 Clues Unstoppable Series:
Nowhere to Run - Jude Watson      
Breakaway – Jeff Hirsch
Countdown – Nattalie Standiford
Flashpoint - Gordon Korman
…     
  
The 39 Clues Doublecross Series:
Mission Titanic - Jude Watson  
Mission Hindenburg - Jenny Goebel
Mission Hurricane - Alexander London
Mission Atomic – Sarwat Chadda

The 39 Clues Rapid Fire:
Legacy - Book 1 - Clifford Riley
Ignition - Book 2 - Clifford Riley
Hunted - Book 3 - Clifford Riley
Crushed - Book 4 - Clifford Riley
Turbulence - Book 5 - Clifford Riley
Invasion - Book 6 - Clifford Riley
Fireworks - Book 7 - Clifford Riley
 
The 39 Clues The Cahill Files:
Operation Trinity - Clifford Riley 
The Submarine Job - Clifford Riley
The Redcoat Chase - Clifford Riley
The Houdini Escape - Clifford Riley
Silent Night - Clifford Riley
Spymasters - Clifford Riley
 
The 39 Clues Super Special Books:
Outbreak – C. Alexander London

Gordon Korman Books

 
Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:

Monday Night Football Series:

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
Cup Crazy (2000)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
Memory Maze (2014)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)
Hypergifted (2026)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)
...
 

Thursday, 25 September 2025

What is the Catholic Church? - Stephen Wang - CTS Books

What is the Catholic Church?
Fr. Stephen Wang (Editor)
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860824517 
eISBN 9781784693251
ASIN B072XR4TRC
CTS Booklet DO763

What is the Catholic Church? - Stephen Wang - CTS Books

Over the last few years I have read over 450 books and booklets from the Catholic Truth Society. Every time I finish one, I find 2 or three more that I want to read. There are so many great series, and excellent authors. Everything I have read by Father Stephen Wang has been excellent. And I still have a few of his volumes on my ‘to be read’ list. I have read several books that are part of the CTS Devotions and Prayer Series. I have read many in the CTS Biographies and also Saints of the Isles Series, and the Great Saints Series. But back to this volume. The description states:

“This booklet shows the Catholic Church’s special place in God’s plan for humanity; how Jesus Christ founded his Church and guides it throughout history and is present with us today. 

Many people are puzzled by the idea of the Church, and especially by the claims of the Catholic Church. This booklet shows the Catholic Church's special place in God's plan for humanity; how Jesus Christ founded his Church and guides it throughout history; how he is present with us, especially through the sacraments; and how he guides and teaches us through its official leaders. The Catholic Church is a home for all, for saints and for sinners, and only in this home can we discover all the gifts that Christ wants to share with us.”

This volume was published in 1991; the eBook was released in 2017. It is the earliest published by Father Wang that I have read. It is an excellent little volume. The chapters in the booklet are:

Some important questions
Why do we need the Church?
How does Christ teach us through the Church today?
Why do we need the Sacraments?
How does the Catholic Church relate to other Christian communities?
What Catholics believe
What can I do now?
Further reading and research

I highlighted many passages while reading this volume. Some of them are:

“It shows that the Church is a gift from God, founded by Jesus Christ himself; that Jesus continues to teach us through his Church; that Jesus is present with us through his Church, especially in the sacraments, and above all in the sacrament of the Eucharist; and that the Catholic Church has a special place in history because it contains the fullness of all the gifts that Christ wants to give to the world.”

“The life of this Church can be traced continuously through the last two thousand years of history right down to the Roman Catholic Church today. The same fullness of life and truth that was given to the apostles is still given to the Catholic Church today.”

“In their daily lives individual Catholics try to live out their faith in fuller and more realistic ways. They constantly struggle simply to remain faithful, and this faithfulness changes lives and helps the whole Church to remain faithful.”

“Through all the changes, the heart of being a Catholic now is exactly the same as it was in 40AD. The Catholic Church today, in a direct and historical and visible line, is the same Church as the Church of the first apostles. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever. Christian lives of prayer and love and sacrifice, lived in the faith of the Church, are at heart the same now as they always have been.”

“Catholics do not believe that the Church is faultless. In every generation, including our own, individual Catholics have done terrible wrongs, by themselves and in the name of the Church. This fact should sadden us, as all sin should sadden us, but it shouldn’t surprise us.”

“For many centuries Christians have believed that the Bible was inspired by God because the Catholic Church taught this, because it was the book of the Church. It would be strange to believe in the Bible without believing in the Church that wrote it and approved it and has been nourished by it throughout the centuries.”

“Jesus spoke with authority and taught his followers: words are important, truth is important. It matters what we believe. It matters what we say about God and what he says to us.”

“We need to hear God’s living and guiding voice today, the same voice that Jesus’ disciples heard. It’s not enough to trust our feelings about what is right. It’s not even enough to trust the Bible-we can fool ourselves too easily and twist its meanings to suit ourselves. God knows this only too well, and he has given us a way of hearing his living, teaching voice today, through the teaching of the Catholic Church.”

“The sacraments are sacred signs through which Christ gives his divine life to us. Through them we worship God, he shows his love to us, and his work of making us holy is carried out.”

“All the gifts that belong to the Catholic Church are really only the expression of one simple thing-Jesus Christ. Nothing matters more than our union with him, our union with each other in him, and our being caught up in his life with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This is what holiness is; this is what life is about.” 

I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This booklet is written for someone curious about the Catholic Church, but I greatly enjoyed it and I have a Religious Studies Degree and a specialization in Roman Catholic Thought. I love the language and how clearly this little volume is written. It would be great as a beginning text either in prep or at the start or RCIA, or just for any Catholic to have a quick refresher.

This is a volume that could be easily returned to many times. And the reader would benefit from it each time, as would their family. It is written such that you can read from beginning to end, or jump around topics. But no matter how you choose to read it you would be blessed by the reading.

It is another great read by Father Stephen Wang and from the Catholic Truth Society.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.

Books by Steven Wang:
The Long Road To Freedom: The Story Of Wang Mingdao
The Christian Faith: A Mini-Catechism for Catholics
Aquinas & Sartre: On Freedom, Personal Identity, and the Possibility of Happiness
Meeting Christ in the Eucharist
The New Evangelisation
What is the Catholic Church?
Being a Parent Today
A Way Of Life For Young Catholics
How to Discover your Vocation
Sycamore The Catholic Faith Explained
...

Available in French:
Comment découvrir sa vocation
...









Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Ultimate Scoring Machine I Was Jerry Rice - Gordon Korman - Monday Night Football Club Book 5

Ultimate Scoring Machine I was Jerry Rice:
Monday Night Football Club Book 5
Gordon Korman
Hyperion Books for Children
ISBN 9780786812707
ISBN 0786812702

Ultimate Scoring Machine I Was Jerry Rice - Gordon Korman - Monday Night Football Club Book 5

This book was originally published in 1998, with four different editions publishing that year under a variety of imprints. It is the fifth in a series of 6 volumes. I was really surprised by the volumes in this series and have been greatly enjoying the ones I have read to date.
 
I set the goal of reading all his books about 2020. I am down to 8 of his books after finishing this volume. I have completed all the stand alone books and at least 2 in each series. Not counting omnibus editions I believe that as of the summer of 2025 Korman has published 109 books. With each that I read I am entertained and often challenged, and some like this book and series are just great fun. My son, who is 17 often, reads these books to me or with me, and he still loves them. 
 
The description of this volume states:
 
“Football Fever!
Nothing can stop Nick from trading places with a pro player for the Tokyo Bowl—not even Chuck, the football-hating counselor at “Camp Flag-on-the-Play.” Meanwhile, Coleman and Elliot are determined to see Nick's exploits on their forbidden mini-TV. Chaos reigns when Nick trades places with high-scoring wide receiver Jerry Rice a full day before the game. While Nick wanders around Tokyo without a clue, Jerry Rice takes charge of making sure Cabin 8 wins every event in the camp’s field day. Camp Flagler Bay will never be the same...”
 
The inside cover of the book has a letter from Jerry Rice:
 
“Welcome to the Monday Night Football Club!
 
I’ve caught more passes than anyone in NFL history, but it’s a real thrill to be featured in this very cool book! In Ultimate Scoring Machine, Nick Lighter wears a magic football jersey and turns into me. I didn’t have a magic jersey to turn into a member of the San Francisco 49ers. I just needed a lot of hard work.
 
I’ve had a lot of great teammates, just like Coleman and Elliot are for Nick. My numbers wouldn’t mean a thing if I hadn’t helped my team. Great quarterbacks such as Steve Young and Joe Montana have made it easy for me. Great blocking by many teammates—too many to mention by name—has helped me to add yardage and touchdowns. And without wonderful coaches while I was growing up, I wouldn’t have learned how to play. It takes teamwork to make a person into a winner. It also takes teamwork to be a success in life.
 
Of course, being part of a team is also a lot of fun! There’s nothing like celebrating a victory with your teammates.
 
So enjoy this NFL adventure with Nick and his pals.
 
Go 49ers!”
 
The chapters in this volume are:
 
Warning: No Football
Broccoli Duty
The World’s Itchiest Sweater
It’s Raining Money
A Million Percent
Totally Delirious
Rice on Rice
Number Eighty Takes a Penalty
The Most Dangerous Sight in Football
Striking Distance
I Love You, Man!
Sudden Death
That NFL Thrill
 
At the end of the book are some bonus sections:
 
The Official Monday Night Football Club Story of Jerry Rice... Simply the Best
Rice’s Best
Rice By The Numbers
The Jerry Rice Foundation
 
I did not highlighted any passage while reading this volume. I said it in my first review of a book in this series I and state it again, I am a much bigger fan of the CFL than the NFL, I could never really get into the four downs and smaller field and balls. But I follow sports enough to know the names and personalities; I just wish Korman had done a book in this series on Warren Moon, which could have had a CFL crossover element. Though reading the first 5 in this was like a throwback to conversations in high school about the games the night before.
 
This was a really fun story. This time we get one swap but it goes over a whole day and night, and into the next day. The three friends and their crazy football plays, are at camp, and their counsellor is a self proclaimed recovering football addict. It is the preseason and the Monday Night Football Club have brought a portable TV, and enough batters to choke a hippopotamus. But at every term their counsellor is a buzz kill. First confiscating their football, then declaring no football in any way, shape or form, and finally even snatching the TV. But his best laid plans cannot stop these three and their magic football jersey.
 
It is sort of a sports themed Freaky Friday. Yet again I could hardly put it down. It really is a great pity this book and series are out of print! I really enjoyed this volume, and the previous four and look forward to reading the final installment.
 
Another great read from Korman’s masterful pen.
 
Books by Gordon Korman:
MacDonald Hall Series:
         (formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)
          (aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)
          (formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

Bugs Potter Series:

Jeremy Bloom Series:

Monday Night Football Series:

Masterminds Series:
Masterminds (2015)

Slapshots Series:
Cup Crazy (2000)
4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

Nose Pickers Series:
4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

Island Series:
Shipwreck (2001)
Survival (2001)
Escape (2001)
3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

Son of the Mob Series:

Everest Series:
The Contest (2002)
The Climb (2002)
The Summit (2002)
Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:
The Deep (2003)
The Danger (2003)

On the Run Series:

Kidnapped Series:
The Search (2006)
The Rescue (2006)

Swindle Series:
Swindle (2008)
Zoobreak (2009)
Framed (2010)
Showoff (2012)
Hideout (2013)
Jackpot (2014)
Unleashed (2015)
Jingle (2016)

Titanic Series:
Unsinkable (2011)
S.O.S (2011)

The 39 Clues Series:
Flashpoint (2014)

Hypnotists Series:
Memory Maze (2014)

Ungifted Series:
Ungifted (2012)
Supergifted (2018)
Hypergifted (2026)

Slacker Series:
Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)
...

Non Series Books:
Born To Rock (2006)
Schooled (2007)
Pop (2009)
Restart (2017)
Notorious (2019)
War Stories (2020)
Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)
Unplugged (2021)
Linked (2021)
The Fort (2022)
...
 
Monday Night Football Club Series Gordon Korman

Tuesday, 23 September 2025

What Happened at Fatima - Leo Madigan - CTS Christian Shrines

What Happened at Fatima?
The First Objective and Comprehensive Retelling of the Story in 50 years
CTS Christian Shrines Series
Leo Madigan
Catholic Truth Society
ISBN 9781860820915
eISBN 9781784692209
ASIN B071RNCN65
CTS Booklet D651

What Happened at Fatima - Leo Madigan - CTS Christian Shrines

This is a great read in a wonderful series. Over the last several years, I have read many books from the Catholic Truth Society, in fact over 450 of them as of the reading of this volume; many read more than once; this all since the spring of 2018. Most were good reads; some were great reads; and a few are exceptional. This was the eighteenth in the CTS Christian Shrines Series that I have read; many of them have been read twice. This is the first I have read by Leo Madigan, and I believe the only one of his published by the CTS. But many of his other titles both fiction and non-fiction caught my attention. This booklet was originally published 2000 and the eBook was released in 2017. The description of this volume is:

“An objective and comprehensive retelling following the history of the events at Fatima, adhering faithfully to the memoirs of the longest surviving seer, Sister Lucia.

Adhering faithfully to the memoirs of Sister Lucia, the longest surviving seer, this book follows the events of Fatima: from the first stirrings of the wings in the appearances of the angels before the six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin herself, the deaths of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the subsequent apparitions to Sister Lucia in Pontevedra and Tuy, the consecration of the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart, the dissolution of Soviet Communism, to the beatifications of Francisco and Jacinta and the opening of the third part of the secret that Our Lady confided to the children in 1917.”

The chapters in the book are:

Introduction
What Happened at Fatima
The stirring of wings
The unfolding of the wings
Angel at prayer
The Lady
From May to June
Wednesday, 13th June 1917
From 13th June to 13th July 1917
Friday, 13th July 1917
Monday, 13th August 1917
Sunday, 19th August 1917
From August to September 1917
Thursday, 13th September 1917
Saturday, 13th October 1917
The miracle of the Sun
Francisco, 11th June 1908-4th April 1919
Jacinta, 11th March 1910-20th February 1920
Lucia, 22nd March 1906

I highlighted only few passages while reading this volume, they are:

“But if the choice of peasant children as heaven’s messengers is a paradox, that is in keeping with the Message of Fatima itself because heaven’s values are opposite to ours. If you can accept that, read on. Indeed, read on even if you find believing difficult.”

“That rural community, Aljustrel in the parish of Fatima, could not possibly have known it, but heaven was schooling one of its children, Lucia dos Santos, preparing her for a role it had selected her to play in one of the most public manifestations of Divine Mercy in our world since Christ walked among us.”

“From lunch-time to nightfall! That must have been at least 4-5 hours. 4-5 hours spent in prayer with one’s forehead to the ground would suggest a form of ecstasy in a spiritually mature person. In 7 to 10 year olds it couldn’t be anything else.”

“The Lady had beguiled them; the God they saw themselves in when the rays from the Lady’s hands penetrated their hearts had beguiled them; heaven itself had beguiled them. The supernatural had kidnapped their every thought and affection. They had been promised heaven, had even been given a glimpse of it and now all else was insipid.”

“It doesn’t require much imagination to picture the pressure put on the children, their families and their village, before the October Apparition.”

“When the 13th arrived an estimated 70,000 people turned up in appalling weather conditions in this remote hill country that was barely equipped to sustain its few villages and livestock. 70,000 would be a dream number for a sponsored event nowadays but in 1917, long before television and radio, to say nothing of mass transport, a crowd of 70,000 must have been an awesome sign of man’s hankering for the supernatural.”

“Francisco’s lack of self-interest, together with his secret prayer life are of a piece with the prototypes of the Christian contemplative like Benedict Joseph Labre, Charles de Foucauld and Therésè Martin. The symptoms are the same. The thirst for solitude, the hours hidden camouflaged in prayer, the absorption in the Divine that go unremarked by those around because of the veil of paradox, the veil that enables the contemplative to disappear into prayer, into the very wood of the cross, to contemplate the sun at midnight and to stake all on a virgin with a child.”

I hope those quotes give you a feel for the volume. This book is a real focus on the history of the events and the events after. It has a really well balanced mix history and personal accounts. It is cleanly written and easy to engage with. It could benefit anyone from secondary school on. 

This book is another great read and one any Catholic would benefit from reading. The CTS Deeper Christianity Series of books is written in such a way that they can easily be read in any order. Pick and choose the ones that interest you, read them in order, or jump around. I have been blessed by the entire series that I have read and can highly recommend this book and the series.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan! For other reviews of books from the Catholic Truth Society click here.

For reviews of other books in the CTS Christian Shrines series click here.

Other Books in the CTS Christian Shrines Series:
Message of Assisi
Message of Fatima
Message of Guadalupe
Message of Walsingham
Santiago: Santiago de Compostela - The Pilgrim Way of St James

Books and articles about Fatima:
...

Books by Leo Madigan:
Alexandrina da Costa: The Mystical Martyr of Fatima
Armchair Fatima: An Illustrated Tour of the Marian Shrine and Nearby Sites
Exquisite Miniature: Little Nellie of Holy God 1903-1908
Fatima Prayer Book
Fatima: Highway of Hope
Handbook to Fatima: The Altar of the World
Princesses of the Kingdom
Random Jottings for Young Seafarers
Safe or Sorry
The 2nd Catholic Quiz Book
The Catholic Quiz Book
The Children of Fatima
The Devil is a Jackass
The Fatima Guide
The Golden Book of Fatima
The Irish Monstrance
Why Fatima? The True Secret

Fiction:
Crystal Ball Cameos
Jackrandy
The Bank of Infinite Reserves
The Five Stones
The Weka-Feather Cloak
Who Told You You Were Naked?